These two great "Women in Art" events take place at the wonderful almost too nice to be art dealersP.P.O.W. Gallery. And the Rema Hort Mann Foundation... on of MAO's Favorite.. is possibly one of the best charities to support if you're interested in the Emerging Arts and helping out individuals suffering from Cancer.

MAO will be there. To get more information.. or to buy your tickets/make donations in advance...[email protected].

April 06, 2010

The show closes on April 10th, and the gallery is at 111 Front Street, Suite 225, Brooklyn, NY 11201. Plus, this show was curated by photography great, and MAO favorite, Matthew Pillsbury.

OK.. We know.. going all the way out to Brooklyn is not going to happena small hassle. But, you will not be sorry. This is one show not to miss. Many of you might know Ruben Natal-San Miguel from his hyperprolific art blog, "ArtMostFierce." But beside being an obsessed contemporary photo collector, Ruben is also quite a skilled street photographer. The show, his first solo project, and is packed full of strong hit you right where you live images. It is NY street grit and glam at it's best. (Photo #1, Ruben Natal-San Miguel, "Duo- Once Upon a Time, Harlem, 2007," C-Print)

If you like the work of photographer Zoe Strauss, you've got to see this show.

Here's a small overreaching thoughtful note from the show's press release...

Like Ruben's Philadelphia friend and influence, photographer Zoe Strauss, he elevates these "UNSEEN" people and places with poetic vision, working to create an endearing meaningful life lesson of what it's like when the human spirit makes the best of what others may consider to be so little. This photographic project captures the beauty and struggle of everyday life which resonates as a social document of our time, and as a sheer and powerful visual art" - Mike Hoeh

The show includes a total portfolio of intriguing images, taken on the streets of Harlem over the last 5 years.

As you all probably know, MAO got to meet this young photographer about 3 years ago, when she had just graduated from Art School and was having her very first gallery show. As a contemporary art collector one of the greatest joys is getting the opportunity to watch a new young artist's career take off.

Her credits already including shows at the Chicago MCA, and the 2008 Whitney Biennial,

Melanie has a new body of work now opening up in Chicago at the Kavi Gupta gallery. (Photo #1,
Melanie Schiff, Light Pipe,2009,digital c-print mounted and framed,31 1/2" x 35" framed,edition of 5)

Horton & Liu Gallery, who? C. Sean Horton's new Chelsea expansion of his hot cutting edge L.E.S. Sunday Gallery is now representing Melanie Schiff in NYC. Yes..my little MAO-ettes, SOME contemporary art galleries are actually expanding into Chelsea!! They will be having Melanie's first NYC gallery show debut in mid-October..

Mirror & Mastodon : Oct 15 – Nov 14, 2009

In fact they've already put out the press release..!!

Horton & Liu is pleased to present a new series of photographs by Los Angeles-based artist Melanie Schiff. Mirror & Mastodon
is the artist’s New York solo debut and the artist's first major
exhibition since her inclusion in the 2008 Whitney Biennial. The
exhibition also coincides with her inclusion in Between Spaces at PS1 / MOMA.... read more here..

Amazing...and Congrat's to Melanie Schiff, we can't wait to see your photo work on NYC gallery walls!

April 15, 2009

Well.. maybe it's just a sign of the times.. but this week one of the most well respected Art Photography Dealers announced they are leaving their great space in Chelsea for the stuffy Upper East Side.

But, do people expect to see and buy new contemporary art photography on 81st street on the upper east side?

Well..Maybe.. We shall see!

We wish Robert Mann all the best at their new location.. MAO and Chelsea will miss you!

Robert Mann Gallery is pleased to announce the exciting news of its relocation to Manhattan's Upper East Side. Returning to the neighborhood where it all began in the mid-1980s, the gallery will reside in a limestone mansion at 24 East 81st Street, one block from the Metropolitan Museum of Art, six blocks from the Whitney Museum of American Art, and right in the heart of the prestigious Upper East Side neighborhood."I began my gallery in 1985 in a townhouse on East 76th Street, staying there for 14 years," says Robert Mann. "In 1999 we were among the first wave of art galleries to settle in Chelsea, and the first photography gallery to do so. The move to Chelsea enabled us to expand our program to include large scale contemporary works, some of which pushed the boundaries of traditional photography. Operating one of the largest photography galleries in New Yorkhas been both challenging and rewarding. We've been able to successfully exhibit and manage the careers of many artists who started with us back in the 1980s, as well as introducing many younger artists. During this time we have benefited from the luxury of incredible space and neighborhood support. "After 10 years in Chelsea, the gallery is ready for a change. We will continue to present exhibitions of contemporary and classical works, promoting the careers of our contemporary artists within the broader context of photographic history. The Upper East Side is a supportive neighborhood that I know well and has the benefit of proximity to many of our clients and the institutions with which we work."Following Mary Mattingly's exhibition, Nomadographies, closing May 23, we will be available by appointment only until further notice. We look forward to welcoming you to our new location!Please continue to contact us via the following:www.robertmann.com[email protected]T 212.989.7600F 212.989.2947

2. Imi Knoebel works priced at Mary Boone Gallery for $170,000 to $325,000 had not been sold.. Hello.. SO? Did you see this show? Are they crazy???? MAO would call that, Total Common Sense.. not the result of a recession.

Even at $360,000, MAO would consider that price to be totally RIDICULOUS for a new Sugimoto photograph! While MAO loves some of Sugimoto's work.. there's NO WAY in any sane world, anyone but a total fool would pay $360,000 for a single Sugimoto photograph.

We love this Gagosian press release quote..

In 1980 he began working on an ongoing series of photographs of the sea and its horizon in locations all over the world, using an old-fashioned large-format camera to make exposures of varying duration....

By returning to the same subject repeatedly, he reveals the subtleties that he.....

Perhaps, That "HE," Sugimoto, hasn't managed to do anything new or original in years? Except raise his prices beyond reality? Ok.. maybe MAO is being a bit harsh.. So no disrespect to Sugi...but we're just saying...Hmm..it's something to think about. Should a single newly printed Sugimoto photo sell for more than the average price of a house in most parts of the U.S. ? Maybe MAO is missing something..? like an extra $360,000 to burn on a new and dull Sugimoto photograph.

4. Cindy Sherman's last show at Metro Pictures wasn't the sellout it would have been a year ago. Actually.. this was Cindy's best work in years.. but still not that great. So MAO is glad they sold some.. but again.. selling out photo editions for over $100,000/print by a living and printing artists, should never have been the norm. No?

(Photo #1, by Cindy Sherman, Untitled, 2004, c-print)

OK.. well.. Offically, for the record, We at MAO are very sad to see the Guild & Greyshkul Gallery go bye-bye. We always loved their gallery.. and we wish them all the best in their futures endeavors.

But just seeing a few (4+) art galleries close over the last few months in NYC is just not that bad nor that big a deal. There were perhaps a few too many anyway.

Plus.. Now, just think... How many multi-billion dollar financial institutions have totally gone bust in the last few months..? Well, Here's one hint.. it was MORE than 4 !! Can you say.. Bye bye, WAMU, Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns, AIG, Merrill Lynch, Wachovia, etc.. MAO will miss you all !

Well..What do you think? Agree, or Is MAO just too old and bitter negative?

By KatyaKazakina Feb. 3 (Bloomberg) -- Guild & Greyshkul, one of the mostvibrant galleries in downtown Manhattan, is shutting down on Feb.15, the latest casualty of the collapsing art market. Yet itwon’t go quietly. The Soho gallery’s last hurrah begins Thursday: a four-dayextravaganza featuring the work of 120 artists. The show is afitting end for an exhibition space known for nurturing youngtalent. “I wake up at night thinking of what will happen to all thepeople who do more experimental work, artists who are in thebeginning phases of their careers,” Johannes VanDerBeek, 26, oneof the owners, said. “We’ll be as flexible as we can be withprices to get our artists a cushion of money.” Guild & Greyshkul’s financial woes, a result of slowingsales and tanking prices, are growing commonplace in the artworld. Since September, four galleries have shut their doors:Roebling Hall and Cohan and Leslie in Chelsea; Rivington Arms inthe East Village and 31 Grand on the Lower East Side. More established galleries are hurting, too. They’re firingstaff, dropping out of art fairs and extending their shows formonths in an attempt to cut expenses. “Galleries are just hanging on with their fingernails,”said Matthew Armstrong, who curates the collection of Donald B.Marron’s Lightyear Capital, a New York private equity firm. On a recent visit to Chelsea, Armstrong stopped by eightgalleries. “I was the only person in at least seven of them,” hesaid. “I wish the best to these guys, but it’s a little scary.” Two weeks into its show of veteran German artist ImiKnoebel, Mary Boone’s Chelsea gallery hadn’t sold any of theseven works, priced between $170,000 and $325,000.

Reduced Prices

At the Gagosian Gallery on West 21st Street, Japanesephotographer Hiroshi Sugimoto’s exhibition, which opened on Nov.6, 2008, has been extended through March 7. The prices of some ofhis meditative seascapes have been reduced from $450,000 to$360,000, with plenty still available, the gallery said.Cindy Sherman’s November exhibition at Metro Pictures didwell, said gallery co-owner Helene Winer, but it wasn’t thesellout it would have been a year ago. “Some of our big collectors said they weren’t buying, and Iwas shocked,” she said. Since its founding in 2003, Guild & Greyshkul has attractedan eclectic community of artists, collectors, curators andcritics. The partners -- VanDerBeek, his sister Sara VanDerBeek,32, and their friend Anya Kielar, 30, -- are all artists withsuccessful careers. “They built a very culturally relevant program of bothcritically and commercially well-received artists,” said NewYork collector James Dorment, who has bought works by thegallery’s artists Ernesto Caivano and Trenton Duerksen. “I triedto see most of their shows. To me they were one of the mostinteresting emerging galleries.”

No Profit

Although Guild & Greyshkul has served a broad collector baseand put up new shows every four to five weeks, the gallery nevermade a profit, VanDerBeek said. All the extra money went rightback into producing artists’ work. “We managed always to keep even,” he said. “And as wewere progressing, our exhibitions were getting more ambitious.” In 2007, Guild & Greyshkul began doing shows thattransformed the exhibit space. Artist Lisi Raskin installed a 30-by-20-foot ceiling that hung 7 feet off the floor. Coupled withorange light and a long apocalyptic drawing stretching around theentire space, the installation completely distorted the galleryexperience. The gallery’s overhead has averaged about $25,000 a month inthe past three years. Since September, covering those costs hasbecome increasingly difficult, VanDerBeek said. “Sales when they did occur were at steep discounts on worksthat were mostly under $20,000,” VanDerBeek said. “People saidthey loved the pieces, but they were just not buying them.”

(Katya Kazakina is a reporter for Bloomberg News. Theopinions expressed are her own.)

February 29, 2008

Well... we at MAO thought Jen Bekman was a secret find of ours.. NOT!! We totally love her blog personism.. and we always go shopping every week at her amazing 20x200 art project, like here and here...which is bringing cool art to the masses.

January 24, 2007

So our second SoHo stop.. was the Womanizer group show at Deitch Projects.Now.. We loved the Show Poster (Photo #1), Loved the Show name..but didn't appreciate much else. Maybe it's a woman thing. If there are any female's left reading this blog.. can you please explain? What exactly does it mean: Taking on the title WOMANIZER, not in the sense of a womanizing male subject but rather to "ize" with or to saturate with femaleness as it states in the show description?

Anyway.. considering the topic potential, and the reputation of adventurous curators Kembra Pfahler and Julie Atlas Muz, we found most of the show lacking depth or even a fresh provocative message... or perhaps you need that extra chromosome to see it, not sure. But, the main gallery is half filled with large ridiculous photographs of vaginas wearing hats (I'm not kidding!). And while, we at MAO confess to actually having liked a minute or 2 of the Vagina Monologues, we spent most of our frustrated college years trying to avoid looking at these.. needles to say.. it just wasn't happening...Help!

Even more surprising, Jeffrey Deitch was actually in the gallery Saturday afternoon talking with selective visitors.. He even did a good job of totally ignoring us, despite our repeated efforts to engage. Just proving once again, Chelsea has not cornered the market on attitude filled gallery prima donna owner behavior. Well.. despite the chilly Chelsea style reception and the many talented artists included.. we found the show disappointing. The few bright spots were :

September 15, 2006

Have you ever gone to a group art exhibition and said afterwords.. "I really wish they would have included work by <bla...bla...blaa..insert your favorite artists>?" Or.. I think everybody said.. "Those foolish biennial curators don't know what they are doing.. they should have included... X, y and z artists!!"

Well, now's your big chance to add your 2 cents!! A competition is being held by the Saatchi Gallery and London's Guardian newspaper. The artists who get the most votes will appear in an exhibition in London. The contest ends on September 18th. So go Vote Now ! Click Here !! You too can be a curator!

FYI....I've already voted.. and not to persuade MAO readers too much.... but two of my favorite artists are in the running !!

Brian Ulrich shoots in malls, grocery stores, and warehouses, documenting the bounty of commercial goods available to consumers and the peculiarities of the places that offer them for sale. Ulrich is interested in how people act in these spaces. From cathartic to catatonic, the shoppers in Ulrich’s pictures may be caught up in fantasy or quite simply overwhelmed, but they are most certainly familiar.

May 20, 2006

It's a nice exhibition, but it's completely wasted lost on most the viewers in Rockefeller Center because no information was made available to the general public at the exhibition cite on the artists or on any of the works presented.

FYI.. A brochure was only made available to the press (and not to this Blogger..cause I wasn't invited! OMG..can you believe that!) at the preview. Such a pity. Why not put the info up?? What are these galleries thinking???

If you had any thought this might be the TOP of the Contemporary Art Market, guess again!! Given the recent Mad COW Crazy Rush this weekend to buy everything and anything at the NY Armory Show, And the Pulse Fair, And The Scope Fair, And The etc.... It seems like a pretty safe bet for Gagosian Gallery to further expand in Chelsea.

So, they just signed a 10 year lease at 528 W. 21st Street, for the entire building, 9,200 square feet, and filed permits with the NYC Department of Building to conduct demolition and renovation (Est total costs of $690k).

December 27, 2005

Sometimes I'm just amazed at the proliferation of New Art Galleries the last few years around New York. It would seem every time I walk down a block in west Chelsea.. there's a new big building going up to be filled with art galleries.

Now, Don't get me wrong.. Clearly, the more art galleries there are, the better! Also, the more places to see and show artists work.. the better it is for everyone.. artists, collectors, museums, and the general community at large. Well.. apparently The Republicans someone in Albany doesn't agree!

In short, for those of us lucky enough to get to enjoy the beauty of Long Island's east end, the sale (and display) of local artists work just got limited. One of Dr. Quiz and my favorite things to do out east when the weather's bad, is going free drinking wine tasting at the 30+ improving Long Island wineries.

Well apparently, the wisdom of the NY State Liquor authority has determined the sale of Art at a winery is illegal. Other than their wine, they are only allowed to sell souvenirs, of either their winery or the state of New York. Joshua Toas the new SLA Chief executive and a Pataki appointee, has begun to enforce these laws.

Over the years, many of the the Long Island wineries, have been showing (and selling) the work of Local East End Artists. It's been a great outlet for many local artists to have their work seen by the 500,000+ visitors to the wineries each year. Interestingly some LI wineries have even commissioned well known artists to design labels for their wine. This year, both Barbara Kruger and Eric Fischl have created labels for Bedell Cellars Winery.

After all, what goes better with Art, than drinking wine?? Clearly many of the people buying art blindly insatiably at ABMB this year were drinking heavily!!

Now obviously, you don't go to Bedell Cellars Winery expecting to see the next Loretta Lux, Thomas Ruff, Richard Tuttle, or even god forbid a Mike Kelley installation. But the local East End Art work is generally interesting to see, financially supports local artists, and it sure beats the tired "I Heart NY" bumper stickers we'll be seeing for sale at every winery this spring!!

December 21, 2005

This past Sat Morning after previewing the huge hodge-podge of leftovers photo, print and design stuff that has become the Sat @ Phillips Auction.. Strangely enough famed Broadway Playwright Edward Albee was there early, with paddle in hand as well. I walked over to see the Araki Nobuyoshi show at Anton Kern.

It was early.. Like 10:30am which I guess is way too early for gallerina time! So I was all alone, it was super quiet, so quiet, I could easily eavesdrop hear & see Mr. Kern very clearly on the phone.

"Hi Vince.. It's Anton Kern, I was wondering if you'll have time to come see our Nobuyoshi Araki Show, as you probably know it was featured in yesterday's New York Times...please give me a call if you have any questions. Thanks, Happy Holidays!"

First off, one friendly MAO suggestion to gallery owners.. either close the office door, talk softer, lookout for nosey bloggers, try to actually engage your visitors, or put some music on in the background!

But I digress.. So.. It was interesting to hear a gallery owner begging, selling his soul lobbying for a show review. I guess with too so many shows in Chelsea as the ever thought provoking Ed Winkleman wrote and hotly debated yesterday. Even one proud MAN blogger lost his cool,cookies "Christmas Spirit" in a debate with one anonymous coward, gallerina, heckler commenter! OK, so, it's a major hurtle to get a show reviewed..fine. But then I was thinking why doesn't someone just start a business where gallery owners pay a fee, and have a nice positive fluffy review written.. oh.. wait.. Artforum has already filled that business model. I guess Gagosian (a-la"Mike Kelley's "Day is Over-Done") has already proved the theory that there's a positive correlation between the amount of money spent on advertising in art magazines and the probability of a show getting a prominent and always positive review. Enough said on that!

Araki.. So.. Like we've never had a show of colorful pictures of over sexed flowers and naked tortured girls before...? Now that's something Vince should run over to see and write up ASAP!! Can you say...totally forgettable, been there done by everyone, they All Rook-A-Rike? NO? Is this really an important show deserving of that now precious, valuable, scarce all-mighty critic review?

Well.. Maybe. While I found the work (mostly diptychs of one pouty faced tide-up girl, and a painted flower) a bit contrived, tacky and sometimes laughable. It does give the NYC American Art world in-site as to what's successful in Japan and how it's been over run by the American art aesthetic. To his credit, the work does show transition and growth.

Last night I looked back through two old books, Tokyo Love - Spring Fever Nan Goldinand Nobuyoshi Araki ,1994, and Promiscuous Flowers - The photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe and Nobuyoshi Araki, 2001. In these projects Araki's work looks simple, flat, almost amateurish when in direct comparison to these 2 NYC American masters. Was this a Japanese vs American art aesthetic? I think so. But his latest work, he's achieved complexity and depth the previous photo's lacked, but now it all looks very 1990's American!

It's clear Araki has been heavily influenced by American art photography, maybe too much. I found these new hyper colorized painted flowers on their own, an interesting twist on the typical pretty flower image. They almost appear bleeding, liquid and raw. A show of these alone might have been more interesting to an American eye. Whether this show is deserving of yet another critic review.. I guess that's up to Vince, and the ad sales department of Artforum! But I do think it shows an interesting transition of a Japanese photographer trying (and probably failing) to appeal to the new NYC American contemporary art photography aesthetic.

It's interesting to see, yet another player in the primary art market now fighting to build a stable of artists! I think Mario Testino was, at one point, represented by Mary Boone, or at least the last gallery shows of his work in NYC were with Mary Boone in Nov 1998 and at the NYC Visionaire Gallery in Sept 1999.

Phillips said in a press release "Starting in January 2006, the exhibitions will run alongside the company’s regular auction schedule and will include a select number of leading designers, photographers and artists."

You have to wonder if this new direction as a primary dealer is a conflict of interest with being seen as an "independent auction clearing house"? Or will it bring more transparency of price/valuation information for works of art? Will they be more able to help maintain stable prices for their own in house artists?

Well.. I wish them all the best of luck in this new endeavor.. It's an interesting development. I look forward to attending the openings and seeing the cat fight as they lure artists away from established Chelsea galleries new shows.

So, I needed to see it again.. The first time, it was sensory overload,hard to focus, and I thought it cool..not so much at all the second time. I totally hated the show!

So I wasn't going to Blog about it, instead I was going to write how much I enjoyed Tyler Green's (assist from Ed Winkleman) talk on Burtynsky at the Brooklyn Museum this Sunday. Tyler's talk was an interesting contrast to when I got to hear Ed Burtynsky talk about his show a few weeks ago. By the way guys.. Burtynsky photo's are much more affordable that what Ed told the crowd Sunday.

But back to Kelley.. So..... this morning I read Download MikeKelley.txt yet another feature story by Michael Killeen on Bloomberg News and I realize I will probably never see this show again, and that'sfine with me! Does Gagosian pay for all this press?? I don't think this show was anything special. Just a huge amount of glitz, lights, with little meaning or thoughtful message. Why are so many art people writing so much about it?? I'm sure it was a huge amount of work to put it all together, it's big, but many of the pieces weren't even very memorable. I found this blogger who agrees with me! So, I'm a bit sad to read most of the 28 sections have sold from $250,000 to $650,000! What are these people going to do with this over-hyped crap stuff ?? Do they just buy it because it's at Gagosian? And why would a museum/institution waste their money buy any of this? Anyway.. just needed to vent.. and luckily the show closes soon.. So we won't have to read too much more about it!!

November 28, 2005

This week I had a chance to stop in and see the new show at the Aperture Foundation Gallery - their new amazing space in Chelsea at 27th street.

The first time I saw GARY SCHNEIDER : NUDES, I was wading through the stacks of new books at the ICP shop, my typical exciting Friday night geek activity. Initially I thought the work looked like flat out porn.. but then you realize OMG these are not the typical model beautiful people you'd expect to see posing nude. Then I thought maybe a cross between Andres Serrano's Morgue Series, and film stills from The X-Files. But, the more you look, the single full body portraits seem almost celestial. These images immediately lodge into your photo memory.

So when I heard there was a full-scale show of the work.. I had to check it out! Well.. Seeing the work first hand was a very different experience!! All the images are presented in full-frontal life size photos. It's unsettling and powerful. I had dragged along (as I frequently do) my significant other.. hence forth and forever known on this weblog as Dr. Quiz! He was a bit less startled than I, and proceeded to ask a few thousand questions. As a Dr. Quiz can only do! Lucky for me.. Mr. Schneider was there that afternoon to fend-off the Inquisition!!

Mr. Schneider's process (involving very long exposures and a small flash lite) is impressive, and adds an entire new performance dimension by both photographer and subject to each of the images. In the huge size, the human "subtleties" of their performance really standout.. some more than others! Additionally.. you might recognize the subjects as some are well known NYC art insiders.. many standing out proud!!

Anyway.. Both Dr. Quiz and I enjoyed the show. Thanks Gary for signing a book!

Now I have to wonder... if you were an existing client of the Zach Feuer Gallery Website.. and you had asked for one and hadn't been given a discount would you be mad after reading this? Well.. maybe those clients don't read the Weekend Wall Street Journal!

Not to poke fun of Zach Feuer.. but what's the typical practice for gallery discounts? Once I was given a 10% discount by a really super wise gallery without me even begging asking.. it just showed up on my invoice.. a very pleasant surprise.. and money well spent for them.. cause it came back to them 10 fold in additional business and friendly referrals. Sometimes a little goodwill goes a very long way!

Oh.. And to all those happy discount getting collectors hosting open houses in Miami next week.. The editorial staff (who'll be flying down Thursday) at MAO is now accepting all Invitations!! It would seem our Art Miami Social schedule still has a few openings. Cheers!